Seventeen
by Spicas
Summary: Katniss is seventeen and dealing with adolescence-themed problems for the first time in her life, and she does not like it. Without many options, she ends up spending lunch with her history teacher, Mr. Abernathy, and tries to deal with her somewhat broken friendship with Gale and Madge while she decides to give Peeta Mellark a chance. Inspired by the movie The Edge of Seventeen.


**A/N:** This is my first fic in ages, but I recently rewatched The Hunger Games and got _very_ much into it. This is a little crack, I think, because I really didn't do much to the characters except to fit them into the plot of the movie (which I totally recommend if you haven't seen it yet), so I hope everyone enjoys it! I always love modern AUs so I thought this one could be done easily. All mistakes are mine!

Feedback is always very much appreciated! Thanks for reading!

* * *

 **Seventeen by Spicas**

* * *

Katniss froze as she entered the classroom. People were submitting their papers to Mr. Abernathy's desk. He was setting up the tv for yet another overdramatic, probably not historically accurate movie.

And she had forgotten to do the paper.

She had an excuse. She really did. Her mom worked through the weekend and she had to help Prim with her homework. Then she went to bed early on Saturday because she cancelled the gig she had with Gale since she wasn't on speaking terms with him, and only woke up on Sunday afternoon.

"Mr. Abernathy," Katniss said when she reached the man. "I didn't have a chance to do homework. I don't know if you've heard, but, um, my dad died."

Mr. Abernathy stood up, having finished the trying task that it was to insert a DVD disc into the player. Katniss guessed he really wasn't into teaching today.

"Okay," he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I don't know if you've heard but there is a one year policy for family loss. And you're about five years over that. But I'm gonna be nice to you and let you bring me the assignment next week. Double the words, though."

Katniss huffed. As if that was being nice.

Mr. Abernathy smiled. "You're welcome, Everdeen."

He pressed play and the movie started playing. Katniss went to her usual seat while he turned off the lights and left the classroom to do God knows what. Probably smuggle a bottle of liquor into his locker or something.

Mr. Abernathy was probably a historic patrimony at the school. He had been teaching history for years, everyone knew he used to be a drunkard, or maybe he still was, and he really didn't like teaching. Sometimes he was so bored in his own class that he messed up dates on purpose and never bothered to correct himself. Katniss corrected him constantly.

He was not her favorite teacher.

"Hi," a voice stopped her from going straight to sleep. Katniss turned her head to look to the boy sitting next to her. "Nice jacket."

Katniss looked down on herself. It was a really old jacket. "Thanks."

"So, uh, what did you do this weekend?"

She frowned. "Do I know you?"

The boy blinked. "I'm Peeta. We've, uh, been going to the same schools since we were, like, five."

"Oh," Katniss mumbled. She wasn't very good at making friends. "Uh, weekend was fine. Helped my sister with homework. Forgot to do mine."

He smiled. "Nice!" then he looked mortified. "Uh, not that you forgot homework. That sucks."

"Yeah."

And that was that.

She did end up falling asleep, though.

"Katniss, wake up," a strong voice called her. She opened her eyes. It was Mr. Abernathy. "You've had a brain operation. They tried to make you pleasant."

She glared at him.

"Yep, didn't work," he arched his eyebrows. "The bell rang. Leave."

* * *

She had seen movies and read shit in magazines. She knew being a teenager was hard and all but she had never had much to complain that actually had to do with being a teenager. Having a depressed mom was something she was used to. Having to be the responsible one was something she had learned to do since her dad died.

This whole crap of Gale giving her the cold shoulder after she said she just wanted to be friends and then proceeding to date Madge instead, though — that was utter, ridiculous, teenage bullshit.

Katniss didn't like it one bit.

And since she was mad at Madge for not seeing Gale's little ridiculous game and Madge was mad at her because she thought she was jealous — and Katniss _really_ wasn't jealous —, she was alone at lunch. She even tried to find that Peeta boy, because he at least seemed nice to her (but that was _never_ gonna happen) but she didn't see him, so… she ended up back in Mr. Abernathy's classroom the following day.

He was reading a book and eating a cookie, his feet propped against his desk, with his legs crossed. Katniss ignored him as she crossed the classroom, taking a random chair and putting her lunch bag on a desk. She avoided looking at him as she unwrapped her sandwich.

"I won't bother you, I just wanted somewhere quiet to eat," she mumbled.

He frowned. "And that won't bother me because…?"

She glared at him. Sarcasm was not very charming in her book. "Teenagers suck, you know."

He let out a dramatic sigh. "Believe me, I know. Proof of that is sitting right where you are, interrupting my happy lonely lunch hour."

Katniss narrowed her eyes. "Has anyone ever told you that sarcasm is a sad weapon?"

He let out a laugh. "I hear that every day, kid," he finished his cookie. "Shoot. You being bullied or something? If you are, I gotta report that to Mr. Heavensbee. So that if you do something crazy they can't call me negligent."

Katniss made a face. "That is disgusting. No, I'm not being bullied," she took a bite of her sandwich. "Just tired, I guess. My mom's been depressed and I'm living on sandwiches."

Mr. Abernathy looked skeptical and, perhaps, a little concerned. He opened a drawer and tossed her a package containing a cookie identical to the one he had been eating.

"I have a spare," he said. "So, when you mean teenagers suck you were only talking about yourself? 'Cause I totally get that."

Katniss tried very hard not to swear at him.

"You never told me if you're married," she commented, choosing to change the subject.

Thing was, she was terrible at small talk.

Seemed like Mr. Abernathy wasn't one for it either, because he went back to his book and ignored her for the next minute.

"I'll introduce you to my mom," Katniss said. "You two could be miserable together. You're an underpaid teacher and she's an unemployed nurse. You clearly have no passion for your work or you'd actually be good at it. She has no passion for life in general. You both don't take good care of your hair."

By then, Mr. Abernathy was looking a little mad, so Katniss got her stuff quickly and left the classroom without looking back.

She did hear him complaining about her taking his last cookie though.

* * *

The following week during lunch, however, Katniss gave him a bag of chips. She couldn't really bake and she hadn't had time or money to spare to buy a box of cookie dough, but they had chips at home and she supposed everyone liked chips.

He didn't thank her at all, and opened the bag after taking off his earphones.

"I know it's just chips but I wanted to thank you for the cookies," she mumbled, then looked at him. "Did you bake them yourself? It was a good cookie."

"No, I'm not good at baking," he said, but did not elaborate.

Katniss felt a little restless when he said nothing else and simply ate the chips.

"You wanna know why I'm having lunch with you?" She asked. It was only fair. He only arched his eyebrows. "I don't have many friends."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," Mr. Abernathy said. "You're not a very agreeable person."

"Everyone's obsessed with emojis and Instagram, everyone's a mouth breather," she rolled her eyes. "Do you know, I have to help my little sister with homework and make sure we have enough money for groceries? I shouldn't have to, you know, worry about this stuff."

Mr. Abernathy only looked vaguely interested.

"You mean emojis and Instagram?"

Katniss huffed. "No. Just… drama," she sighed.

"Or maybe no one likes you."

"You're a dick," she huffed, then looked at him slowly. "Peeta asked me out."

"Then go out with him," Mr. Abernathy said immediately. He was typing something on his phone. "You'll have a boyfriend to spend lunch with, and not be a miserable, lonely girl who has lunch with her inefficient teacher."

Katniss pursed her lips and felt a little embarrassing. "Sorry about that. You're not such a bad teacher," she mumbled. "No, I don't wanna go out with him."

"Then don't," he said impatiently.

"But Madge and Gale are together and if I see Peeta then at least I'll have a friend," she said.

Mr. Abernathy gave her a tight lipped smile. "I really don't care."

She scowled at him and ignored the comment. "I don't really need anyone, I suppose."

Mr. Abernathy shrugged. "We all need something, Katniss."

"What, like you needed booze?"

That got him to at least look at her. "You need to work on your charms. You _really_ are a very unlikeable person."

"Well, I learned from the best," she retorted.

He abandoned the phone on the table and watched her.

"Listen, maybe you should, you know, see the school's psychologist," he suggested. Katniss made a face. "I just mean, I can't help you with this. And as you've pointed out several times, I'm not a good listener. In fact, sometimes when you start speaking, I'm not a listener at all."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, join your students, then," she sighed. "I don't wanna see the psychologist. The old one was alright, but this one gives me the creeps. I won't talk to her."

He sighed. "Your mom still unemployed?"

Katniss nodded. "She's been doing odd jobs at a nursery home. She's better when she works. Prim convinced her to go to the theater today."

"That's nice. You should go with them," he suggested. He didn't have to know they didn't really have the money for three tickets. The bell rang. He looked pointedly at her. "Leave."

* * *

After a few days having lunch together, albeit not as a first choice, Katniss realized the teacher had been keeping the second cookie for her. It was nice of Mr. Abernathy. He never said much and never left his desk at all, but at least he let her vent about her problems and didn't complain _a lot_ about it.

Today, Katniss skipped her regular sandwich and accepted the cookie straight away, sitting on the chair opposite of the desk and munching the cookie quickly.

Mr. Abernathy eyed her. "Is there a problem, Katniss?"

"There are several problems," she told him. "Gale replaced me in the band. Just like that. Poof, I'm out."

Mr. Abernathy frowned. "Without talking to you?"

Katniss huffed. "He might have tried to call me and I didn't answer," she swallowed what was left of the cookie. "This is really good. Do you think you can find the recipe for me? I'm a lousy cook but maybe my sister can help."

"Sure," Mr Abernathy said slowly. "So, you didn't answer, and he kicked you out of your band? What do you play, bagpipes?"

Katniss glared at him. "I sing, I'm the singer, it's just a stupid band anyway. But we got a gig next Friday and I can't go because my mom has a night shift and I have to look after Prim. And he just replaced me!"

Mr. Abernathy leaned back on his chair. "You realize that you just need to communicate and that's the end of it, right?"

Katniss was silent for a moment, pondering his question. "Seriously? You're telling me to communicate? You barely talk to your students."

"Yet here I am, and I'm not even a shrink," he took a deep breath, clearly running out of patience. "Can't you just hang out with your band mates or something?"

"It's only me, Gale and Tom," Katniss crossed her arms. "And Tom's really more like Gale's friend than mine. Did you know I didn't even know Madge _knew_ Gale until they started seeing each other?"

"I did not know that, no," the teacher said in a not very interested tone. "You need to put yourself out there, Katniss. Hanging out with a teacher isn't very cool to your peers, I'm sure."

"Right. Because you obviously know what's cool and what's not cool, _Haymitch_ ," she narrowed her eyes.

"It's Mr. Abernathy to you," he pursed his lips. "You said your mom has a night shift?"

She nodded. "Yeah, at the nursery home. It's not ideal but it's better than nothing. And I can't even save money for my driving license, you know that? I'm a great driver, but I don't have a license and Mom won't let me take the car."

"That's tough. Have you thought about talking to the school's psychologist?" Mr. Abernathy tried again.

Katniss faltered slightly. "No."

"No, you haven't thought about it, or no, you're not going to see her?"

"Both?" Katniss said, startling slightly as the bell rang. "Don't forget the cookie recipe!"

She stood up and started gathering her stuff from the desk when Mr. Abernathy spoke again. "You can just ask the Mellark boy. His family owns the bakery."

Katniss sighed and tried not to glare at him, but ended up giving him a sarcastic smile instead. My. Abernathy was chuckling when she left the classroom.

* * *

Katniss did ask Peeta about the cookie, eventually. Just a quick question before history class, after he had once again asked how her weekend had been. And he did bring her the recipe, plus a bag full of cookies that Katniss had been mortified to accept but pretty happy to share with Prim when she got home. And she had actually agreed to go out with Peeta, platonically. She had even had lunch with him that week at school. She was sure Mr. Abernathy didn't miss her anyway.

Only, it appeared that once she and Peeta met to hang out after school, it seemed pretty obvious that he thought it was a date and he definitely opened up his heart to her and Katniss —

She didn't deal well with emotions.

The date was a pretty lousy idea, all in all. Between kissing him when he left her at home, then seeing Gale the next morning and having to listen to his stupid accusations and skipping school because she really just wanted some peace and quiet, Katniss had fucked up.

Which was why she was running to Mr. Abernathy's classroom in the middle of the afternoon right as everyone left school. It had been almost a week since Katniss spent lunch time with him.

To his credit, he barely looked up from his reading when she entered.

"Hey."

"Busy."

"I don't want to alarm you, but I think I'll just kill myself and get this over with," she said at once.

That made him stop his reading. "I'm sorry?"

"I'm just gonna die," Katniss repeated.

"Right. Oh, wow. That was what I was planning to do today. Now I can't do it because you'll do it. Can't be original anymore," he huffed. Katniss barely acknowledged the sarcasm. "You really shouldn't joke about this sort of thing, kid."

He was right, she supposed. "Okay. Maybe I can just disappear forever, then."

Mr. Abernathy let out a long breath. "I'm probably gonna regret this, but what's the matter now?"

"I sent Peeta a text."

"Okay…"

She fished her phone out of her pocket, unlocked it and handed it to the teacher.

"Let's see. 'Do you wanna have sex tonight?'" Mr. Abernathy eyed her awkwardly and cringed. "You really know how to elaborate on your sentences, Katniss."

Katniss groaned and hid her face behind her hands.

"What am I gonna do when he replies?" she asked, looking at him after a moment.

Mr. Abernathy gave her her phone back. "I'm gonna assume you don't actually want to, uh…"

"No!" Katniss said quickly. "It was a… I don't know what I was thinking. We went bowling yesterday and it was fun and he told me about his life and I just… I kissed him to make him feel better? And Gale saw and confronted me this morning and maybe I drank some of my mom's wine at lunch…"

"Okay, hang on," Mr. Abernathy said slowly. "You texted this to the Mellark boy. He's a decent kid, from what I'm told. Don't worry."

"He's a _teenager_ ," Katniss reminded him.

Mr. Abernathy arched his eyebrows. "A good point, I suppose."

"I can never see him again," Katniss groaned again. "Ever, ever, ever. I just wanted a friend, you know? And he's nice, but I think I manipulated him into thinking I'm interested."

Mr. Abernathy snorted. "You think?"

"But I'm not! I just didn't want him to start crying in the car or something. He was really emotional and I— I felt sorry for him, I guess," she reasoned slowly.

"Why did you send him that text, then?"

"Because I was angry at Gale and I just wanted to get back at him," Katniss said impatiently, then cringed. "That's… pretty awful of me."

"Yeah," Mr. Abernathy agreed. He laced his fingers together on the desk and pursed his lips. "Look, just don't reply to him today. When you're ready just tell him you didn't mean the text and that you just want to be friends. He's a good boy, he'll get that, I think. But just in case," he picked a sheet of paper and wrote something down. Katniss took the paper. "This is my number. In case you're in trouble or just want to vent. You won't see a psychologist, and I don't want you to do something stupid."

Katniss was pretty much speechless. It was almost like he cared. "Okay."

"Just… go outside, clear your head. Have an ice cream," he suggested.

"I don't have any money, but thanks for the suggestion," Katniss mumbled, feeling less mortified but even more ashamed.

"Here," he tossed some notes at her. "Grab something for your little sister too. I'll want the change, though."

"I can't accept—"

"Just… buy yourselves some food instead of sandwiches," he interrupted her. "Give me the change next week. No worries."

Katniss nodded thoughtfully. "Thanks."

She ended up taking Prim to a little simple Italian restaurant and they had even had enough for dessert.

* * *

Since Mr. Abernathy was basically her only friend and he was also her current therapist and had paid for her dinner, Katniss was more than a little mortified to have to call him later that night, but she really had no one to talk to.

She just needed a ride. That was all. Even if she was in some shady corner of the city and had no money or means to come back home. And she had argued with Gale again and felt just _so_ tired. Peeta's text earlier also did not help.

But Mr. Abernathy did come to pick her up, and did not comment on her tears or asked why she ended up in the city. Instead, he asked her where to drop her off.

"Uh, I don't know, any diner near my house," she mumbled. "I'm gonna give it some time, I don't want Prim to see me and worry."

The teacher merely nodded and continued driving.

Katniss only noticed where they were when he was pulling up on a driveway. By then, she wanted to die.

"You brought me to Peeta's house?" she screeched. "What the fuck?"

"The Mellarks live across the street," Mr. Abernathy said nonchalantly. "I brought you to my place. Did you really think I was gonna leave you in some diner at this hour?"

Katniss still made no move to unbuckle the seatbelt or leave.

"Listen, you're really in no state to see your sister," he added. "My wife's inside and I'm pretty sure there's ice cream in the fridge if you want some."

That got her attention.

" _You_ have a wife?"

Mr. Abernathy didn't bother to reply and simply left the car, so Katniss had no other option but to follow him. It was a nice house. The neighborhood was simple and quiet. She had come here last week to watch a movie with Peeta and it had been fun. His house wasn't huge but it was a mansion compared to where she lived.

The same went for Mr. Abernathy's house. It seemed too well-maintained for someone who looked like a slob all the time and was such a lazy teacher but if he had a _wife_ then she supposed it could be valid.

The first thing she saw when Mr. Abernathy opened the door wasn't the wife, though.

"Why is there a baby in your house?" Katniss asked, completely surprised. "Is that a real baby in your house?"

And, sure enough, there was a little baby lying quietly on a very colorful playmat, trying to reach for some toys that were hanging above him.

"Shit, he must have broken in or something," Mr. Abernathy said sarcastically, tossing his keys on the couch and walking towards the baby, who was making some cooing noises from his place in the middle of the living room.

Safe to say Katniss' jaw dropped to the floor.

"Hey, there. Shouldn't you be asleep already?" Mr. Abernathy said in an almost cautious manner as he picked the baby from the playmat. He did that very naturally, Katniss noticed. The baby settled in his arms and Mr. Abernathy turned towards Katniss again. "This is Toby."

Katniss waved her hand a little, feeling awkward. "Hi, Toby."

She didn't care much for babies, but Toby _was_ cute and chubby — he had very blue eyes and not a lot of blonde hair on his head.

"I thought I heard your voice," a woman appeared in the room suddenly.

"Yeah, got company," Mr. Abernathy said softly. "You know Effie."

It took Katniss a moment to realize the blonde woman wearing jeans, a simple t-shirt and with her hair in a ponytail was someone she knew.

"Dr. Trinket?" Katniss asked, trying not to look so surprised.

Dr. Trinket used to be the school's resident psychologist, until last year — this was probably the first time Katniss was seeing her without a heavy layer of makeup on her face and wearing a pencil skirt and an expensive looking pair of heels. Still, she was usually okay — she was patient and had even helped Katniss occasionally.

"Call me Effie, please. It's good to see you, Katniss," Dr. Trinket said with a smile as she walked towards Mr. Abernathy and kissed him.

On the lips.

"Haymitch told me about you," the woman said softly, motioning for her to sit. "Would you like something to drink? We've already had dinner but I'm sure I can fix something for you. Or, rather, Haymitch can. I'm not much of a cook, I'm afraid."

"She sucks at it," Mr. Abernathy — _Haymitch_ , apparently — said with a snort. The baby was sucking on his thumb. "The only one who likes anything she makes is this guy, and that's because she breastfeeds him."

"Uh, no, thank you. I've had dinner too," she looked pointedly at Mr. Abernathy, who had the decency to look distracted as he sat down on the opposite couch. "I didn't know you two were… that you two had a…"

"Do you see now how my lunch hour got worse?" he asked with a pointed look. "Last year I spent it at her office and this year I'm being stalked by a teenager."

She _really_ didn't want to know why they spent lunch hour in Dr. Trinket's office, so she focused on the other part of the sentence.

"I'm not stalking you, I'm just… keeping you company," she decided.

Effie actually laughed as she took the baby's hand out of his mouth and wiped his fingers clean. "I think it's good. There's only so much baby talk one can have. Believe me, I know."

"He's really cute," Katniss offered, supposing it would only be polite to comment on the baby, and also because she had no idea what to say.

"Oh, thank you, Katniss," Effie said with a bright smile, and she looked so touched that Katniss felt a little awkward.

"I helped too, don't forget that," Mr. Abernathy said as he propped the baby's feet on his own knees and held the baby up. The little boy was cooing at his mother. "A right traitor, you are. Always on her side."

This actually did make Katniss snicker.

It was nice, she guessed. She spent some time talking before Mr. Abernathy — Katniss supposed she could call him Haymitch now — brought her some ice cream — and gave Effie a bowl as well, after she commented that he was improving his manners — and Katniss was grateful they hadn't asked about what happened before. Effie only asked about her mom and mentioned she could see about finding her a place to work — Katniss insisted she didn't have to, but she seemed set on it. Before long, however, it was apparently time for Toby's last feeding of the day and bedtime for him as well, so Effie took him from Haymitch.

"I don't know what you're going through, Katniss, but I'm certain it'll get better," Effie said, and she didn't even sound like she was speaking as a psychologist. "I wasn't doing too well a few years ago and then I met Haymitch and… well, look at me now."

"I'm a hero, I know," Haymitch teased.

"Just make yourself at home, and we'll help in any way we can," Effie offered, though not before giving Haymitch a smile. Katniss nodded, and Effie turned her attention towards the baby. "Now, say goodnight to Daddy and Katniss."

The baby kept on blowing bubbles of saliva as Haymitch kissed the top of his head and Katniss turned her eyes away when Effie and Haymitch kissed each other goodnight — it was awkward enough without her looking.

"That was unexpected," Katniss commented once Effie left with the baby.

Mr. Abernathy shrugged. "It was for me too, kid," he sounded so resigned that Katniss let out a laugh. "We met at a support group, not at the school. Not the highest point in her life, and I had been there, so… She saved herself, though."

"It's nice you found each other," Katniss mumbled, not really looking at him.

"Listen, Katniss. I know things aren't easy right now and I'm not gonna say they'll get better but… things just have a way of mending on their own," he told her. "You just do your best to adapt and decide how you'll deal with it."

"That's... surprisingly good advice," Katniss said, a little taken aback by his words.

"Yeah, well," Mr. Abernathy said, slapping his hands against his knees before standing up. "I just want you outta here now, because I wanna spend some time with my wife later. It _is_ Friday night, after all."

Katniss cringed, and got the message. She stood up. "Yeah, I should go home anyway."

Fifteen minutes later they were in front of the house Katniss shared with her mom and her sister. Prim was probably still reading, thinking she had only gone for a walk. Katniss took a deep breath and turned to her teacher.

"Thanks. Thank Effie for me too," she gave him a small smile then pursed her lips. "I'm sorry for ruining your evening."

He shrugged. "We have a baby at home. We're just gonna watch a movie and Effie will sleep twenty minutes in. Or maybe I'll sleep before her, who knows."

Katniss snickered, then looked at her house, bracing herself for whatever would greet her outside of the car.

"Any last words?"

Mr. Abernathy gave her an encouraging smile. "Stay alive."

Katniss merely shook her head and left the car.

An advice as good as any.

* * *

Katniss told Peeta to go on without her so she could sneak into Mr. Abernathy's classroom before the bell rang. He looked up as soon as she entered and she handed him the change of the money he had given her last Friday.

"Thanks for that," she said softly. "I'll pay you back when I have the rest of it."

"Don't worry about it."

"I, uh, spoke to Peeta. Went to this gallery on Saturday, he paints some stuff. It was nice," Katniss told him. "We're friends. Just friends."

"Try to maintain it," he said with a pointed look. "And, uh, Effie's not really practicing anymore because of the baby, she's gonna take a break, but she can try and fix you with a colleague, if you ever want to talk. If you're not comfortable with Dr. Curdew."

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind," he gave her a skeptical look. "Hey, it's not a no."

He raised his palms up in surrender; the bell rang.

"See you around, Haymitch."

This time, he didn't scold her; he made an impatient gesture with his hand and shooed her. "See you next week, Everdeen."

* * *

Weeks later, she was visiting Peeta one Sunday afternoon when she spotted them again, as Effie was getting out of Mr. Abernathy's car and going to get the baby from the backseat. She smiled when she noticed Katniss approaching her and balanced her bag, the baby's bag, and the baby himself in two arms — Katniss thought the whole thing was admiring in itself.

"Hello, Katniss," she greeted, then gave Peeta a fond smile. "Peeta. I wouldn't advise you to come much closer because I already smell the surprise Toby prepared for us."

Haymitch walked around the car and relieved Effie from the baby's bag and the baby, making a face as he took him.

"Hey, kids," he greeted them gruffly.

"I, uh, just wanted to invite you guys to a gig I have next week," Katniss said hurriedly, giving Effie a paper; she showed it to Haymitch. "It's not much, but I got together with my band and… it's at Sae's, so it's family stuff. The music won't be too loud or anything. You can bring Toby. If you want to, that is."

"We're gonna have to check our calendar," Haymitch replied, just as Effie started speaking.

"We will probably go," she gave Katniss a pointed look. "Unless the little one gives us any situation, we'll be there. Thank you for the invitation, Katniss."

Katniss blushed slightly; she felt a little awkward talking to them as if they were friends, but she supposed she could consider them that. She was pretty sure the job her mom got at a psychiatrist hospital had to do with Effie.

"Well, I'm gonna get going," Katniss said, looking from them to Peeta. She shook her car keys at Haymitch. "Got my license."

"Try not to do anything crazy, kid," Haymitch warned her.

She snickered.

"I can help you with the bags if you want to, Mrs. Abernathy," Peeta offered when he noticed that they had clearly taken a trip to the grocery store.

"Oh, you are such a darling, Peeta Mellark," Effie said gently. "I can only hope Toby will be as much of a gentleman that you are."

This made Peeta blush, and Katniss laughed. Toby whimpered slightly in Haymitch's arms, so he started walking back inside their house while Katniss crossed the street towards her mom's car.

"Hey, Haymitch!"

He looked behind her.

"Stay alive," she teased, looking at the baby.

He made a face, but smiled fondly at her.

Katniss drove back home feeling content, and had a nice dinner with her mom and Prim before spending some time talking on the phone with Madge and making plans to go to the movies with her and Gale.

Being a teenager wasn't _always_ so bad.


End file.
